Environmental factors in helicopter operations.

The environmental problems affecting aircrew are partly those which all soldiers face, such as noise, heat and cold, and partly peculiar to the medium and the vehicle in which aircrew train and fight, such as disorientation and decompression. The cockpit environment of the modern helicopter is luxurious in comparison with many of its predecessors, yet most of the adverse effects of flight on the man still pertain. The result can, predictably, be acute and disastrous, resulting in an accident produced by severe disorientation, or chronic, producing insidious fatigue and performance decrement, which may also result in an accident. One particular stressor may be dominant in a given situation, but generally, many separate factors act simultaneously to produce their results.